Between his tidy desk and drafting table on either end of his place lies an array of plastic -- an early-90s Beetlejuice toy sits next to a mint-condition Robotech doll, a Godzilla spews fire on a long-forgotten piece of Ren & Stimpy merch, and KISS Army stuff is just about everywhere.

The studio's full of what he likes, and he says his art is the same -- anyone looking for a deeper meaning in "godzenmonsters", his show opening at Perihelion Arts this Friday, will have to supply their own, he says; he's just painting what he likes.

Courtesy of Mike Maas

The show's title, Maas explains, comes from a combination of his inspirations: "There's always the monsters with me. That's what I've loved since I was a kid ... [and] there's also a kind of Eastern philosophy thing."

In addition to his illustrations, Maas is preparing two sculptures for "godzenmonsters," including a statue of the elephant god Ganesha rockin' a hip-hop style hoodie and a three-eyed goat with tentacles for horns -- what Maas says is "just like the evilest thing I could think to make."